Historic Wallingford Community

Our Historic Wallingford community was saddened to learn of the passing of Paul Dorpat on Wednesday.

He was 87. Paul was a longtime Wallingfordian who loved local history and sharing it with anyone who'd listen. His roots were in Seattle's art scene and counterculture of the 1960s.

He later authored and co-authored many richly illustrated books including Seattle, Now & Then; Seattle Waterfront: An Illustrated History; and Washington, Then & Now; and wrote the Now & Then column for the Pacific NW Magazine for more than three decades. He co-founded HistoryLink.org and, in 2001, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild. Paul's collections are preserved at the Seattle Public Library.

Thank you, Paul. We'll miss you.

https://pauldorpat.com/2026/05/27/paul-dorpat-1938-2026/

Paul Dorpat, 1938-2026 Paul Dorpat, Seattle historian and counterculture chronicler, 87 By Jean Sherrard and Clay Eals Seattle’s leading public historian has officially joined his city’s past. Paul Dorpat, who helped sha…

Congratulations to our friend and Board Vice President, Sarah Martin, for all of her hard work preserving historic properties in Seattle, King County, Washington State, and beyond!

Sarah has been involved in our organization since nearly the beginning, leading our efforts to tell the full story of Wallingford and educating neighbors about home styles, property research, and preservation tools. Most recently, she has developed guided tours of Wallingford that will be launching this summer (stay tuned for details!).

Her knowledge and expertise has been invaluable to our group, so we can't wait to see what Sarah does next in her new role with Historic Seattle!

Today is GiveBig, an opportunity to support work that matters in our community.

Long before Wallingford was named, Coast Salish peoples have lived here, cared for this land, and built community.

This history is central to understanding our neighborhood today.
Historic Wallingford is supporting the Indigenous Histories Research Project: "Beyond Acknowledgment: Indigenous Wallingford Futures." We are currently in the research phase, and with your support, we can hire a UW graduate student to help ensure this work is done thoughtfully and well.

Our goal is to raise $2,500. Each contribution helps us move this work forward.

Give today: wagives.org/story/indigenouswallingford

Having a great time already at the Wally-Home Resource Fair! We are here until 3:30, come and see us!